Organic Food 'Does Not Reduce Women's Risk Of Cancer', Study Reveals

According to a recent study, eating organic does nothing to reduce a woman's risk of cancer.

Researchers asked 600,000 women aged 50 or over whether they ate organic food and monitored their health for nine years.

In total, around 50,000 of the women developed one of 16 of the most common cancers during the study period.

But a comparison between 180 women who never ate organic food and 45,000 who "usually" or "always" chose organic found no difference in overall cancer risk.

In fact, a small increased risk of breast cancer was seen in organic consumers.

But this result could be due to other factors or pure chance, the scientists said.

A reduction in the risk of the blood cancer non-Hodgkin lymphoma was also linked to eating organic, but again scientists said this may not be a genuine association.

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70 Healthiest Foods

70 Healthiest Foods

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Almonds

Almonds are a rich source of fiber, protein, heart-healthy fat, antioxidants and vitamins and minerals, making them a one-stop food. "[They make] a great snack but watch your portion size as almonds are high in calories," warns Johnson. "Stick to no more than one ounce." That's 23 whole, shelled nuts.
While the monounsaturated fat works to lower LDL cholesterol, their significant dose of vitamin E provides antioxidant power. What's more, a quarter-cup of almonds has about 100 milligrams of magnesium (about 25 percent of a daily allowance), which promotes vascular and heart health, and 257 milligrams of potassium, which helps prevent high blood pressure.
These benefits also have a track record in real-world scenarios: in five longitudinal cohort studies, including the Iowa Women Health Study and the Nurses' Study, researchers found that replacing some portion of carbohydrate with nuts like almonds led to a heart disease risk reduction of 30 percent.
And in a study in the journal Metabolism, researchers found that eating almonds along with a high glycemic index food (such as white bread, potatoes or sweets) at breakfast significantly lowered the overall glycemic index of the meal by helping to modulate the postprandial blood sugar rise.

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Professor Tim Key, a Cancer Research UK-funded scientist at Oxford University, said: "In this large study of middle-aged women in the UK we found no evidence that a woman's overall cancer risk was decreased if she generally ate organic food.

"More research is needed to follow-up our findings of a possible reduction in risk for non-Hodgkin lymphoma."
There are concerns that widely used pesticides might increase cancer risk, but so far the evidence has been inconclusive.

Conventionally grown fruit and vegetables contain very small pesticide residues.